Over the past several decades the control of air pollution has become a priority concern of society. The United States, and other countries, have developed highly elaborate regulatory programs aimed at requiring factories, and other major sources of air pollution, to install the best available control technology (BACT) for removing contaminants from gaseous effluent streams released into the atmosphere. The standards for air pollution control are becoming increasingly stringent, so that there is a constant demand for ever more effective pollution control technologies. In addition, the operating costs of running pollution control equipment can be substantial, and so there is also a constant demand for more efficient technologies.
Concerns about pollution control are directed to more than air pollution, and removing contaminants from one medium frequently results in their introduction into another. For example, the treatment of municipal wastewater under the Clean Water Act has resulted in an enormous increase in the amount of sewage sludge that must be disposed of. Many communities lack adequate disposal sites to discard sludge that is generated by their municipal wastewater treatment plants in landfills, and are turning to incineration as an alternative method of disposal. Incineration of sludge, or other waste products, while greatly reducing the volume of material that must be disposed of on land, may result in the release of contaminants in the sludge into the atmosphere. In this regard, it is noted that the sludge generated by many municipalities is contaminated by highly toxic heavy metals and organic compounds, as well as acidic compounds such as chlorides and sulfates. The release of such compounds into the atmosphere is highly regulated, and sludge incineration systems are required to use BACT for controlling the release of contaminants into the atmosphere.
One well known type of device for removing contaminants from a gaseous effluent stream is a venturi scrubber. Venturi scrubbers are generally recognized as having the highest fine particle collection efficiency of available scrubbing devices. As the name implies, in a venturi scrubber the effluent gas is forced or drawn through a venturi tube having a narrow "throat" portion. As the gas moves through the throat it is accelerated to a high velocity. A scrubbing liquid in the form of droplets, typically of water, is added to the venturi, usually at the throat, and enters the gas flow. The water droplets used are generally many orders of magnitude larger than the contaminant particles to be collected and, as a consequence, accelerate at a different rate through the venturi. The differential acceleration causes interactions between the water droplets and the contaminant particles, such that the contaminant particles are collected by the water droplets. The collection mechanisms involve, primarily, collisions between the particles and the droplets and diffusion of particles to the surface of the droplets. In either case, the particles are captured by the droplets. Depending on the size of the contaminant particles, one or the other of these mechanisms may predominate, with diffusion being the predominant collection mechanism for very small particles, and collision or interception being the predominant mechanism for larger particles. A venturi scrubber can also be efficient at collecting highly soluble gaseous compounds by diffusion. A detailed description of these scrubbing mechanisms is discussed in Chapter 9 of Air Pollution Control Theory, M. Crawford, (McGraw-Hill 1976).
After the particulate contaminants are collected by the water droplets, the water droplets are then removed from the effluent stream which is thereby cleansed. Removal of the water droplets may be accomplished by a number of known means. The various removal methods rely on the fact that the water droplets are relatively large and, due to inertia, cannot change direction rapidly. For example, the gas flow may be directed toward a surface such as an impingement plate. While the gas moves around the surface, the inertia of the relatively large water droplets causes them to strike the surface where they are captured. Likewise, if the droplets are subjected to a circular flow, as in a cyclonic separator, the large droplets will collide with the wall of the separator due to centripetal force.
Most venturi scrubbers in use today are "self-atomizing", i.e., the droplets are formed by allowing a liquid to flow into the throat of the venturi where it is atomized by the gas flow. While very simple to implement, this method is not able to produce droplets of very small median diameter. Although not much utilized in commercial embodiments, it has previously been taught that the collection efficiency of a venturi scrubber is related to the size of the water droplets used in the scrubber. In particular, it has been taught that the collection efficiency increases as the surface area of the water droplets used in the scrubber, and it is well known that the surface area of a given quantity of liquid increases with decreasing droplet size. Thus, given this teaching, it would seem that the droplet size of the scrubbing liquid should be reduced to the minimum.
However, as recognized by the inventor hereof and as taught herein, there is a point at which a further decrease in the size of the droplets of the scrubbing liquid begins to become detrimental. As a practical matter, prior art venturi scrubbing devices, even those which claimed to utilize very fine droplets, actually utilize droplets which are much larger than is optimal according to the teachings hereof.
The primary methods heretofore utilized in improving the collection efficiency of a venturi scrubber has been to decrease the size of the throat or to increase the overall rate at which gas flows through the system. Both of these methods increase the differential velocities between the contaminant particles and liquid droplets as they pass through the throat of the venturi. This causes more interactions between particles and droplets to occur, thereby improving contaminant removal. However, increasing the collection efficiency in this manner comes at a cost of significantly higher energy input into the system, thereby resulting in higher operating costs. The extra energy is expended due either to the increased overall flow resistance attributable to the reduced throat diameter, or to the increased overall flow rate through the venturi. In either case, the pressure drop across the venturi is increased and greater pumping capacity is required. Accordingly, heretofore, efforts to increase the fine particle collection efficiency of a venturi scrubber have involved substantial increased energy input into the system.
Of particular concern to those in the field of air pollution control is the collection of "optically active" particles. As used herein, the term "optically active particles" should be understood to mean particles having a diameter in the range of approximately 0.1 to 1.0 microns. These particles are difficult to collect in conventional venturi scrubbers due to their small size. Nontheless, particles in this size range often comprise toxic material the release of which is not permitted. Due to the relatively large surface area of optically active particles, they absorb a disproportionate amount of heavy metal contamination. As their name implies, optically active particles interact with light. Even if they do not contain toxic components, the emission of optically active particles is highly visible and undesirable from an aesthetic point of view. Particles which are larger in diameter than about 1.0 micron are also sometimes considered optically active. However, the present invention is not directly concerned with the collection of these larger particles and they have, therefore, not been included in the definition of the term optically active as used herein. It is considered that particles larger than 1.0 micron in diameter are relatively much easier to collect.
As noted above, municipal sewage sludge often contains significant amounts of toxic heavy metal and organic materials. Heretofore, scrubbers have not been efficient in removing these materials from the gaseous effluent of incinerated sludge. Municipal sewage sludge incineration typically requires the use of high temperatures (i.e., between 800.degree.-1200.degree. F.). At these elevated temperatures, the organic materials are vaporized and are, thus, not susceptible to efficient scrubbing. One approach to this problem has been to use an afterburner on the effluent stream, whereby the organic vapors are combusted and, thereby, transformed into non-toxic compounds, primarily water vapor and carbon dioxide. However, incomplete combustion of the organics can result in the production of carbon monoxide, soot, and/or gaseous hydrocarbons. If soot (i.e., fine particles of carbon) is produced, other compounds, such as those containing heavy metals, can be adsorbed on the surface of the carbon particles. Any particles that are formed in this way are likely to be difficult to collect due to their small diameter. And, as noted above, very small particles are efficient collectors of volatile heavy metals.
One approach to solving the problem of incomplete combustion in an afterburner involves placing the afterburner downstream of the scrubbing stage(s) rather than upstream as is traditional. This allows removal of particles prior to afterburning, and allows for more efficient afterburning. This prior art method also involves cooling the gaseous effluent between the venturi stage and the afterburner stage. Cooling causes the condensation of certain materials which are then removed in a second scrubber. While this approach is believed to be an improvement, it requires two scrubbing stages to collect the particulates in the effluent stream.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved venturi scrubber that is capable of increased particle collection without the need to increase the rate of gas flow through the system or to decrease the size of the venturi throat.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved venturi scrubber wherein the size of the droplets used to collect contaminant particles is optimized.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a venturi scrubber having a high collection efficiency without the need for a commensurate increase in the energy input to the system, as compared to the prior art.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a nozzle for use in a venturi scrubber which has the characteristics needed to efficiently generate droplets having an optimal size for collecting optically active contaminant particles.
A further object of the present invention is provide a contaminant removal system for use with a municipal sewage sludge incinerator that is efficient in removing toxic heavy metal and organic contaminants.